Related Posts
Female Fish are Punished for Bad Table Manners
I have a question for all the women out there who are either married or in some type...
Growing consumption and population = ‘ecological debt’
Despite growing environmental awareness and energy efficiency measures, the developed world consumes more than ever. At the same...
New U.S. study reveals: ALL fish in the U.S. Streams have Mercury in Them
A new U.S. federal study of mercury contamination released this month found the highly toxic substance in EVERY...
The pangasius, an emerging fish speciesIts consumption is increasing, it's the great protagonist of low cost catering, convenient and versatile in the kitchen....
Coal dependence puts Apple at bottom of Greenpeace’s list
Things have not been looking good for the world's favorite technology company.
They seem green and ethical and liberal...
Get your Eco Starter Kit
Create an account and start harvesting Carbon Credits! Exchange your Carbon Credits for green goodies, like the Eco-Hatchery Starter Kit!
-
Green network users
2,991 Users - Show All
Green Directory
Tip of the Day
To save energy, remember to turn off the light when leaving a room
Europe: Fish dependence day nothing to celebrate
photo by futureatlas.com (Flickr Creative Commons)
Yesterday was named ‘fish dependence day’ by the New Economics Foundation (NEF); marking July 9, 2010 as the date that Europe ate its fish quota for the year in terms of sustainability.
A new analysis by the NEF entitled ‘Fish Dependence: The Increasing Reliance of the EU on Fish From Elsewhere’, highlights the unsustainable nature of the fishing industry in relation to Europe’s consumption. From yesterday forward, Europe will be in essence, living off of non-European fish.
From a UK Press Association report:
If the EU were only to consume fish from its own waters it would run out 189 days into the year, the report said, showing that almost half the continent’s fish consumption depends on produce from non-EU waters.
This habit of dependence on foreign fish could deplete fish stocks in other parts of the world. The NEF and the campaign group Ocean2012 are calling for reforms in the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to make fishing in Europe more sustainable.
From an article in the Guardian:
The group is calling for reduced fishing capacity and stronger conservation controls. It also wants wider campaigns to promote responsible consumption of fish, as well as greater government investment in ways to enforce quotas and sustainable practices.
The math is quite simple: people in Europe are eating more fish while stocks are declining. Though upon closer inspection, some landlocked countries, like Austria and Slovakia, go into ‘fish debt’ quite early on in the year, while others, such as Sweden and Ireland, are self sufficient.
Read more on this story in the BBC News article Food for thought on ‘Fish Debt Day’.
Graham Land
Tags: Day, dependence, EU, Europe, fish, fishing, Ireland, NEF, stocks, sustainable, waters
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Climategate review finds CRU scientists’ “rigor and honesty” not in doubt
The third and final inquiry into ‘climategate’, the scandal in which 13 years of emails from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK were either hacked or leaked, has found that the CRU scientists did not manipulate data or silence criticism to reinforce the results of their research into anthropogenic global warming. The inquiry, led by senior civil servant Sir Muir Russell, did find however, that the scientists ‘were unhelpful and defensive’ regarding...
Bonn climate talks news: 10 more years to seal the deal; row over logging
The UN climate talks taking place in Bonn, Germany this week are not proving to be a source of positive news for the global environment. An binding agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently enough to avoid the risk of runaway global warming and climate change were meant to be the goal of last December's climate talks in Copenhagen. But according to the outgoing UN climate chief, this will probably take at least 10 more years. Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of...
An Amusing Case of Mistaken Identity
The winter season is a vicious, cruel, and deadly one. Severe weather conditions and icy roads cause pile-ups and crashes; illness and death stalk the unprepared; and freak accidents are bound to happen. With such bleak prospects, it’s no wonder moods tend to dwindle during this time of year. However, there are times when a wintry, life threatening event may be nothing more than a rather amusing case of mistaken identity. Last Thursday, witnesses reported a snowmobiler struggling to escape Moosehead...
Govt risking UK lives by relaxing air pollution standards
The ‘Greenest government ever’ strikes again. According to official figures pollution contributed to some 200,000 premature deaths in the UK in 2008, a number with disproportionate victims in poor, urban communities. Furthermore, health care costs total £20bn per year for pollution-related ailments. And now the UK’s Conservative-led government wants to relax air quality standards and shift responsibility from national to local authorities. Standard Tory stuff, right? From the Independent: Poor air quality is caused by three main pollutants - nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and...
Contrasts and similarities in climate change adaptation from the East and West
Two stories from the BBC highlight how very different societies are adapting to climate change – specifically to the threat of flooding and rising water levels. One article explains how a new study conducted by researchers in the United States suggests that reconnecting flood-plains to rivers would decrease chances of future flooding and lessen the potential for flood damage in urban areas. In addition to minimizing flood risks, reconnecting rivers to flood-plains would result in better land use for flood-plains,...
London’s Battersea Power Station is Going Green
A couple years ago, I went through a 2 month period of misadventure in the UK. During time spent over there I briefly got to see the Battersea Power Station. I didn’t think much of it at the time, other than “hey, that was in Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere film”. It would seem I am not the only person that considered the Battersea Power Station of interest, for whatever reason. In the past, it has been used on album covers of bands...
U.S. gets in gear for modest climate action
State Department climate change representative to the UN Todd Stern formally announced that the U.S. would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. In a letter to the UN, Stern confirmed the moderate emission reduction target of 17% of 2005 levels by the year 2020. This is the same number that was announced by the Obama administration prior to the Copenhagen climate talks in December, a statement that received mixed reactions. A further commitment to cut emissions by 42% by 2030 and...
Mount Everest: Broken Records and Climate Change
Mount Everest has been in the news quite a bit lately and for good reasons: Jordan Romero, a 13-year-old boy, became the youngest person ever to climb to the summit. On the opposite end of the age spectrum, 50-year-old Apa Sherpa (also known as the Super Sherpa) broke his own record and has climbed Everest the most number of times (20 thus far). According to the Super Sherpa, Climate Change is having a notable impact on Mount Everest—to the point of making it...
Wal-Mart Wants Suppliers to Reduce Emissions
Business has always been about supply and demand, and one business in particular is becoming very demanding of their suppliers. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. wants its suppliers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 20 million metric tons—within the next 5 years. However, don’t think that this giant retailer won’t do their own part in reducing emissions. Currently, they are designing more energy-efficient stores and researching alternative fuels for their trucks. They claim that if their goal is reached, it will be...
Take Your Recycling to the Bank!
Recycling has become a fairly common daily routine and social practice. You’ll see recycling bins at airports, amusement parks, shopping centers, and tourist destinations. You may have a recycling station at your place of work, or there might be one at your kids’ school. You do it, your neighbors do it, even celebrities and government officials do it. We may do it for the planet or the greater, greener good; or we may do it simply because it’s legally required...
View all articles
You can also log in to post a comment.